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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS Gilliam (APA-57)


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Kilo - Oscar - Tango
 NKOT


Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (3) - World War II Victory Medal
Bottom - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp) - Philippines Presidential Unit Citation - Philippine Liberation Medal (2)
Gilliam Class Attack Transport:
  • Laid down, 30 November 1943, as a Maritime Commission type (S4-SE2-BD1) hull under Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 1850) at Consolidated Steel Corp, Wilmington CA.
  • Launched, 28 March 1944
  • Acquired by the Navy from the Maritime Commission, 31 July 1944
  • Commissioned USS Gilliam (APA-57), 1 August 1944, CDR. Hans B. Olsen USNR in command
  • During WWII USS Gilliam was assigned to Asiatic-Pacific Theater:
    TransRon Twelve, COMO. H.B Knowles USN (17);
    TransDiv Thirty-Four and participated in the following campaigns:

    Asiatic-Pacific Campaigns
    Campaign and Dates Campaign and Dates
    Leyte operations
    Leyte landings, 18 November 1944     		Okinawa Gunto operation
    Assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto, 1 April to 5 April 1945
    Luzon operations
    Lingayen Gulf landing, 11 to 12 January 1945     		 

  • Following World War II USS Gilliam was assigned to Occupation service in the Far East for the following periods:

    Navy Occupation Service Medal
    3 to 27 September 1945
    19 to 23 October 1945
  • Decommissioned, 5 July 1946
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 15 August 1946
  • Final Disposition, sunk by Test Able, 1 July 1946 at Bikini Atoll
  • USS Gilliam (APA-57) earned three battle stars for World War II service
    Specifications:
    Displacement 4,247 t.(lt), 7,080 t.(fl)
    Length 426'
    Beam 58'
    Draft 16.9'
    Speed 16.9 kts.
    Complement
    Officers 27
    Enlisted 295
    Troop Capacity
    Officers 47
    Enlisted 802
    Cargo Capacity 85,000 cu. ft., 2,600 t.
    Fuel Capacities
    NSFO 9,695 Bbls
    Diesel 375 Bbls
    Armament
    one single 5"/38 cal dual purpose gun mount
    four twin 40mm AA radar-directed gun mounts
    ten single 20mm AA gun mounts
    Propulsion
    two Westinghouse turbo-electric drive
    two Babcock & Wilcox 450psi 750° boilers
    Ship's Service Generators
     one turbo-drive 250Kw 450V A.C.
     one turbo-drive 150Kw 450V A.C.
     one turbo-drive 100Kw 120V/240V D.C.
    two propellers 6,000shp
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Contributed
    By
    Gilliam 103k Gilliam (APA-57) steaming at 18 knots during trials, 28 July 1944, a few days before commissioning. Her 5"/38 gun on the stern is pointed at the camera.
    US National Archives, RG-19-LCM. Photo # Unknown (probably also 80-G-242729), courtesy Shipscribe.com.    		 Robert Hurst
    Gilliam 41k USS Gilliam (APA-57) under way, date and location unknown. Ted Aanenson
    Crittenden 127k Operation Crossroads prospective target ships and support ships at Pearl Harbor in a photo released, 27 February 1946.
    Ships present from front to rear include:
    USS Crittenden (APA-77),
    USS Catron (APA-71),
    USS Bracken (APA-64),
    USS Burleson (APA-67),
    USS Gilliam (APA-57),
    USS Fallon (APA-81), one unidentified ship,
    USS Fillmore (APA-83),
    USS Kochab (AKS-6),
    USS Luna (AKS-7) and an unidentified tanker and liberty ship. Identifiable on the right are
    USS LSM-203 and
    USS LSM-465. Farther in the background are a floating drydock and a merchant ship hulk with unidentified fittings forward of the bridge.
    US National Archives photo # 80-G-702126 a US Navy photo now in the collections of the US National Archives.    		 US Naval Historical Center
    Gilliam 78k USS Gilliam (APA-57) under way at Pearl Harbor in a photograph back stamped 5 May 1946. Her hull frame numbers have been painted on her side and brackets are visible on the bow and bridge for possible monitoring equipment. Note that little, if any, equipment has been removed from the ship. She was the ship closest to the detonation point of the first atomic bomb tested at Bikini and sank immediately.
    US National Archives, RG-19-LCM. Photo # 19-N-116845, courtesy Shipscribe.com.    		 Robert Hurst
    USS Gilliam (APA-57)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01CDR. Olsen, Hans Bernard USNR1 August 1944 - 2 October 1945
    02LCDR. Lindgren, Vincent C., USNR2 October 1945 - 17 December 1945
    03LT. Bradford, Standish J., USNR17 December 1945 - 18 December 1945
    04CAPT. Williamson, Delbert Fred, USN :RADM18 December 1945 - 5 July 1946
    Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler and Ron Reeves
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History
    Last Updated 16 October 2015